Brake for vehicles



(No Model.) 3 SheetsSheet 1.

E. TBIOKETT.

BRAKE FOR VEHICLES.

No. 431,418. Patentd July 1, 1890.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 (No Model.)

B. TRIOKETT.

BRAKE FOR VEHICLES.

N0.431,418. Patented July 1, 1890.

1 lllillllllljll' j 3%" //IIIIIIAIIIA A A (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet, 3.

B. TRIGKETT. BRAKE FOR VEHICLES.

N0.431.418. v P.atent-edJu1y 1,1890.

1, III"!!! mun? "III

m UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDIVARD TRICKETT, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

BRAKE FOR VEHICLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 431,418, dated July 1,1890.

Application filed December 9, 1889. Serial No. 333,097. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARDTRICKETT, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State ofMissouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Brakesfor Fire Apparatus and other Vehicles; and I do herebydeclare thefollowing to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in brakes more especially adaptedfor hose-reels, coal-wagons, and fire apparatus, although it can beadvantageously used on all kinds of vehicles; and the objects of myinvention are to provide a simple and inexpensive brake which shall beeffective and thoroughly reliable in operation and capable of adjustmentto compensate for wear and to automatically clear and avoid obstructionsin its path without liability of injury or damage to its parts.

With these and other ends in view my invention consists in thecombination of a depending hanger or guide which is fixed to one of theaxles of a vehicle or fire apparatus, a drag-lever supported and guidedin said depending hanger and adapted to have contact wit-h the surfaceof the ice or ground over which the vehicle is moving, a drag chain orrod connected to the drag-lever and a part of the vehicle, and suitablemechanism for operating the drag-lever.

My invention further consists in the provision of means for normallyelevating the drag-lever out of contact with the surface of the groundor ice and to enable said lever to automatically clear obstructions inits path; to provide adjustable means for positively raising or loweringthe drag-lever to compensate for wear thereon; to provide means forbracing and strengthening the depending hanger or guide; to provide thedrag-lever with a reversible and adjustable friction-shoe, and in theseveral combinations of devices and peculiar constructions andarrangements of parts, as will be hereinafter fully described,

and particularly pointed out in the claims.

To enable others to more readily understand my invention, I will nowproceed to a detailed description thereof, in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which Figurel is a side elevation of anordinary hose-roel,showing my improved brake applied thereto. Fig. 2 isan enlarged view, in side elevation, of the brake removed from thehose-reel or other apparatus to which the brake is applicable. Fig. 3 isan end elevation of the hanger, the drag-lever, and the severaladjusting-levers of the form of brake shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 4 isa detail view of the hanger. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of another formof brake contemplated by my invention, and which is especially adaptedfor use on long coal-wagons for firedepartment service or othervehicles; and Fig. 6 is a detail view of a part of the brake shown inFig. 5. Figs. 7 and 8 are detail views of the drag-lever, showingdifferent forms of friction-shoes.

My improved brake, which forms the subject-matter of this application,ismore espe-.

obvious that the brake can be applied or adapted for efficient serviceon any kind of a vehicle.

Like numerals of reference denote corresponding parts in all thefigures, in which i designates the depending hanger of my improvedbrake, which is provided at its upper end with a clip 2, of any optionalmake, and by means of which clip the hanger is firmly andrigidly securedto one of the axles (preferably the rear axle) of a hose-reel or otherfire apparatus or any kind of avehicle. This hanger is firmly braced andstrengthened by a diagonal brace 3, which is united at-one end to thelower end of the hanger, and at its other end said brace is clipped, asat 4, to the axle at a point a short distance at one side of the clip 3.This lower extremity of the depending hanger l is provided with a foot5, which extends horizontally from the hanger, and the outer extremityof which is bifurcated or slotted at 6. This bifurcated or slottedhanger receives a vertically-movable upright lever 7, and it sustainssaid lever 7 and the drag-lever S'against lateral play or movement,while at the same time it serves as a guide to the vertical play of theupright lever 7. The drag-lever is arranged ina horizontally-inclinedposition, as shown, and the lower end of the upright lever 7 is pivotedto the drag-lever at a point intermediate of the length thereof. T0 theforward upper end of the drag-lever is connected a chain, rod, rope, orother device, as at 9, which'is in turn secured to the frame or otherpart of the hosecarriage or vehicle, and which serves to take up thestrain of the drag-lever when the latter contacts with the ground, andthus relieve the hanger and the devices for operating the drag-lever ofundue strain and the liability of injury. The upper extremity of theupright lever 7 is pivoted to a horizontal lever 10, which has itsfulcrum 11 in a fixed bracket 12 on the axle of the vehicle, and to thishorizontallever 10, at a point intermediate of its length, is pivotedanother vertical lever 13, which serves as a means for operating thedrag-lever.

14 designates an endwise-movable rod,which is pivoted at its rear end tothe upper end of the vertical lever 13, and this rod extends forward ofthe vehicle and is connected to a hand-lever 15. The hand-lever 15 isfulcrumed at'its lower end on the frame of the hose-reel or othervehicle, within convenient reach of the driver occupying the seat, andit carries a pivoted pawl 16, adapted to engage any one of a series ofteeth formed in a fixed segmental rack 17, said pawl being operated by arod 18, that runs to the pivoted hand-piece 19 on the up er end of thehandlever 15.

20designates a continuous cord or line, which is connected at one end tothe upper end of the vertical lever 13, thence runs to and around aguide pulley or sheave 21 on the frame of the hose=carriage or othervehicle, and thence down to the upright lever 7, to which lever theother end of said cord 20 is connected at a point below the pivotalconnection of the levers '7 and 10, as shown. A coil retracting-spring23 is connected at its ends'to the frame of the hose-carri age or othervehicle and to the upper end of the vertical lever 15, said' springbeing arranged in rear of the lever 15 to pull the latter rearwardlyaway from the pulley 21, and thus maintain or holdthe cord or line 20under tension or strain, and this spring and the line operate to liftthe drag-lever above the surface of the ground or ice, and thus cause itto swing clear of the'same. Should the vehicle be traveling over a roughroad and the free end of the drag-lever strike an obstruction, thespring and the cord will yield or give to enable said drag-lever toclear the obstruction, and the lever 13 will be thrown forward, and thuslikewise operate the rod 14 and hand-lever 15. To depress the free endof the drag-lever into contact with the surface of the ice or ground, itis only necessary to depress the hand-lever 15, which pulls the lever 13forward and depresses the front end of the lever 10 and the uprightlever 7, so that the draglever is forced upon and into the ice or groundto retard and arrest the motion of the vehicle. Intermediate of thelevers 10 and 13 is an adjusting-rod 25, which is secured at one end tothe rear extremity of the lever 10 and at its other end to the lever 13at a point intermediate of the length thereof, and this rod can beadjustably connected to the lever 10 by fitting the pin in either of theseries of apertures therein to raise or depress the front end of thelever 10, and thus adjust the lever 7 and the drag-lever to compensatefor wear in the friction-shoe of the drag-lever or on the free end ofsaid drag-lever itself.

The brake hereinbefore described, and shown in Figs. -1 to 4:,inclusive, is especially adapted for hose-reels, fire-engines, or otherlike apparatus or to other vehicles; but in Figs. 5 and 6 I haveillustrated another form of the brake especially adapted for use on longcoal-wagons in the fire-department service or on large heavyfreight-wagons, lac. In this form of my invention I employ the draglever8, the depending hanger 1, fixed on one of the axles of the vehicle, andthe dragchain 9, intermediate of the drag-lever and the body or otherpart of the vehicle to which the brake is applied. The hanger is securedto the axle and braced in the manner hereinbefore described; but in lieuof forming a slot in the foot of the hanger to permit a part of thebrake to play vertically in the hanger I pivot the drag-lever directlyto the lower end of the hanger, as shown. To the rear extremity of thedrag-lever I pivot an arm 30, to which the drag chain, rod, orotherconnection 9 is secured, and this chain 9, &c., runs and is secured to afixture 31 on the body or other substantial part of the vehicle. On thebody of the vehicle or other substantial part thereof I fulcrum abell-crank lever 32, and one of the arms of this lever is connected by adepending sustaining-chain or other suit able connection to the frontend of the draglever, while the other arm of the bell-crank lever isconnected by an endwise-movable rod 34 to a foot-lever 35, fulerumed atthe front end of the vehicle in proximity to the seat thereon. Todepress the free end of the draglever into contact with the ground, thefootlever 35 is forced down by the drivers foot, which movement of thefoot-lever turns the bell-crank lever and elevates the front end of thedrag-lever and depresses the rear end thereof upon the ice or ground,andthe backward pull or draft of the drag-lever is sustained by thedrag-chain 8, the arms 30, and the body or other part of the vehicle towhich the drag-chain is connected, thus relieving the hanger and otherparts of the brake from undue strain.

The drag-lever is normally elevated, so as to clear the surface overwhich the vehicle moves, by means of a trip-cord 36, which is connectedto the forwardend of the drag-lever 8 and to a tripping device 37,supported on the body or other suitable part of the vevicle to which thebrake is applied. This tripping device connects with the trip-cord,andit operates to hold the cord under strain and to raise the drag-leverout of contact with the ice or ground.

The tripping device (shown in Figs. 5 and 6) consists of a sliding piece38, which is guided in a fixed tubular guide 39, and said guide isprovided with lateral ears, through which screws or other suitable meansare passed to rigidly secure the guide on the ve hicle-body to which thebrake is applied. The sliding piece 38 is provided at one end with aneye 40, to which the trip-cord is secured, and it is formed with arecess or annular groove 41 near or at its rear end to receive the hook42 of a pivoted lever 43, which is fulcrumed on the guide 39. This leveris normally held by means of a spring 44, so that the hooked arm 42thereof engages the shoulder formed by the recess or groove on thesliding piece, whereby the sliding piece is prevented from rearwardmovement and the trip-cord is held under strain and taut to normallyraisethe shoe of the drag-lever above the ground and enables said shoeto clear obstructions, which is highly desirable, especially whentraveling over rough surfaces-as, for instance, cobblestone streets incities. The spring-controlled trip-lever 43 has connected to it a cordorline 44, which leads to a suitabledevice 45 at the front of thevehicle, so that the driver can release the hook or arms of saidtrip-lever from the sliding piece, and thus apply the brake to thesurface of the ground or ice. I do not, however, confine myself to anyparticular mechanism for holding the trip-cord under tension, as I amaware that other contrivances can be substituted for the particular formof the tripping device herein shown and described.

Should the drag-lever strike an obstruction in its path which iselevated sufficiently above the surface of the groundto impart a suddenstrong jerk to the drag-lever, the latter will pull on the trip-cord anddraw the sliding piece 38 rearward, thus easing up the strain on thetrip-cord and the drag-lever and obviating damage to the brake.

The free end of the drag-lever, which comes in contact with the ice orsurface of the ground, is provided with a friction-shoe 50, and in Figs.7 and 8 I have illustrated two ditferent modifications of thisfriction-shoe. In Fig. 7 I have shown the friction-shoe as made of asingle flat disk or plate of steel or other metal, which is fitted in aslotted or bifurcated rear end of the drag-lever and clamped in placebya bolt, as shown. WVhen one side of the disk or plate which forms thefriction-shoe becomes Worn, the disk or plate can be reversed or turnedto present another edge to the ground, and so on until the shoe is wornout, when it can be replaced, or the shoe may be loosely fitted on thebolt and allowed to rotate or turn freely on said bolt; In Fig. 8 I haveshown the drag-lever formed with integral friction-shoe, which maybe ofthe form shown, or it may be made of a separate piece and securelyunited to the drag-lever. The edge of the shoe may be beveledorV-shaped, as shown, or fiat, as is obvious.

I do not confine myself to the use of the drag-lever pivoted at a pointintermediate of its length to the lower end of the upright lever, whichoperates in the slotted guide of the hanger, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2,as said drag may be dispensed with, and in lieu thereof the parts may bearranged and combined for operation in the following manner: Thefriction-shoe may be applied directly to the lower end of the uprightlever, as shown in Fig. 7, and said lever fitted in the guide of thehanger and connected to the horizontal lever, and the drag-chain is thenconnected to an arm or lug on the lower end of said upright lever,which, in effect, constitutes the drag-lever.

I have found by experiment that the brake which forms the subject-matterof this application is highly beneficial to vehicles which are compelledto travel at speed over icy surfaces, as the brake acts effectually toarrest the motion of the vehicle when on slippery surfaces, and Withoutstrain or pulling back on the horses, the brake acting efficiently.under conditions where the ordinary wheel-brake is inoperative.

The operation and advantages of my invention will be readily understoodand appreciated by those skilled in the art from the foregoingdescription, taken in connection with the drawings.

Changes in the form and proportion of parts and details of constructioncan be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing theadvantages of my invention, and I would therefore have it understoodthat I reserve the right to make such modifications as fairly fallwithin the scope of my invention.

No claim is herein made to the specific device for adjusting thefriction-shoe, consisting of the endwise-movable slide connected to thesuspending bar or lever which carries the friction-shoe, a fixed guidefor said slide, and a locking device for confining the slide in place,as said device forms the subject-matter of an application filed by meJanuary 22,1890, Serial No. 337,834.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a brake, substantially as described, the combination of a fixedhanger, a drag lever supported by said hanger and movable thereon, so asto contact with the ground or other surface, a drag-chain secu red tothe dragleverand fixed to a part of the vehicle to which the brake isapplied, and manually-operative surface of the ground or ice, andmanuallyoperated devices for forcibly depressing said drag-lever, as andfor the purpose described.

3. In a brake, substantially as described, the combination of a rigidhanger fixed to the axle of a vehicle, a drag-lever carried by saidhanger, a drag-chain connected to the drag-lever and a part of theapparatus or vehicle to which the brake is applied, a'cordconnected-with the drag-lever for normally holding the lever outof'contact'with the ground or other surface and adapted to give or yieldwhen the lever strikes an obstruction in its path, and manually-operateddevices for positively depressing the drag-lever,

as-and for the purpose described.

4. In a brake, the combination of a fixed hanger, the diagonal bracesecured to the axle or other part of a vehicle and said hanger, adrag-lever supported in the hanger and hav- 0 ing a friction-shoeadapted to contact with the ground or other surface, a drag chain or rodconnected to the drag-lever, a manuallyoperated lever, and connectionsintermediate of .the manual lever and the drag-lever, as

and for the purpose described.

5. In a brake, substantially as described, the combination of a fixedhanger having a slotted or bifurcated foot, an upright lever fitted insaid slotted or bifurcated foot and capable of vertical movementtherein,a draglever pivoted to said upright lever, a drag chain or rodconnected to the drag-lever, the

horizontal and vertical levers, and a manually-operated device connectedto the system of levers, as described, for positively forcing thedrag-lever upon the ground or other surface, as and for the purposedescribed.

6. In a brake, substantially as described, the combination of a fixedhanger, a draglever supported therein, a drag-chain connected to saiddrag-lever, a manually-operated lever, and a system of leversintermediate of the manual lever and the drag-lever, as and for thepurpose described.

7.'In a brake, substantially as described, the combination of a fixedhanger, a draglever supported therein, a drag chain or rod connected tothe drag-lever, a'manually-operated lever, a system of levers andconnections intermediate of the manual and drag levers, aguide-pulley,'a cord or other connection which passes over theguide-pulley and is connected to two levers of the system of levers, anda spring, substantially as and for the purpose described.

8. In a brake, substantially as described,

the combination of a fixed hanger, a draglever supported therein, adrag-chain connected to said lever, a manually-operated lever, and asystem of levers and connections intermediate of the drag-lever and themanual lever, two of the levers of the system'being adj ustablyconnected to each other to adjust the parts and compensate for wear onthe drag-lever, substantially as and for the purpose described.

9. In a brake, substantially as described,

the combination of a fixed hanger, a drag--,

lever supported therein,- a drag-chain connected to said drag-lever, theupright and vertical levers 7 13, a horizontal lever 10 intermediate ofsaid levcrs7 13, alongit-udinallyadjustable bar intermediate of thelevers 1O 13, a manually-operated lever 15, and a rod 14, intermediateof the levers 13 15, as and for the purpose described.

10. In a brake, substantially as described, the combination of a fixedhanger, a drag-lever supported therein at a point intermediate of itslength and having a friction-shoe at its rear extremity, a drag-chainconnected to the front end of the drag-lever and fixed to a part of thevehicle or apparatus to which the brake is applied, and devices foradjusting the drag-lever, as and for the purpose described.

11. Ina brake, substantially as described,

the combination of a rigid fixed hanger having a slotted guide-foot atits lower end, a suspending bar or arm connected with the hanger andfitted in the slotted foot thereof, a friction-shoe connected directlyto the lower end of the suspending-bar, a drag-chain for relieving theshoe and hanger of strain when the brake is applied, and means forholding the bar and shoe in a raised position, for the purposedescribed, substantially as set forth.

12. The combination of a fixed hanger, a vertically-movablesuspending-bar guided by said hanger and carrying a friction-shoe, whichis connected directly to the lower end of said suspending-bar, a systemof levers, one of which is connected to the hanger and thesuspending-bar, a cord or cable connected to one of said levers and tothe suspendingbar at an intermediate point of its length, meansconnected to one of the levers for normally holding the same in aposition to raise the suspending-bar, and 'a drag-cham- EDWARD TRICKETT;

'Witnesses: I p Y W. HORMANY,

T. P. Asneaoox.

IIO

